Rack mounted computer system

ABSTRACT

A rack mounted computer system. In one variation the computer rack is configured for side-by-side placement of computers. In another variation, the computer rack includes flanges for supporting the placement of computer units within the rack. In another variation the computer rack is configured with retaining clips. In yet another variation, the computer rack is configured to receive computers with chassis that are adapted for side-by-side placement.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 11/125,942, filed May 9, 2005, entitled “RACK MOUNTED COMPUTERSYSTEM,” which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationNo. 60/569,025, entitled “RACK MOUNTED COMPUTER SYSTEM” filed on May 7,2004, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/568,969 entitled“INTERFACE ASSEMBLY”, filed May 7, 2004; U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/569,020 entitled “ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE SHIELDFOR I/O PORTS”, filed May 7, 2004; and U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/569,019 entitled “DIRECTIONAL FAN ASSEMBLY”, filedMay 7, 2004, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itentirety.

BACKGROUND

As information technology has rapidly progressed, computer networkcenters such as server farms and server clusters have becomeincreasingly important to our society. The server farms provideefficient data processing, storage, and distribution capability thatsupports a worldwide information infrastructure, which has come todominate how we live and how we conduct our day to day business.

Typically, at a site where numerous computers are connected to anetwork, the computers and related equipment are stacked in racks, whichare arranged in repeating rows. In conventional systems, the racks areconfigured to contain computer equipment having a standard size incompliance with the Electronic Industries Alliance (“EIA”) “rack unit”or “U” standard. Each computer would have a height of 1 U, 2 U, or someU-multiple, with each U corresponding to approximately 1.75″.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional rack 100 measuring roughly 19 inches wide,30 inches deep and 74 inches high. This rack 100 is formed of arectangular frame structure having four vertical supports 102 (two inthe front and two in the back), each support 102 having a plurality ofholes 104 (typically rectangular) formed along its length. Horizontalrails, which are used to support each individual component to be mountedin the rack, are attached to the vertical supports 102 using cage nutsthat are passed through the holes in the supports. Walls may be attachedto the sides and top of the frame structure and doors may be provided onthe front side 105 a and back side 105 b in order to provide a completeenclosure for the rack system.

Each computer mounted in the rack 100 may comprise a computer chassissupporting a main board. The main board may be alternatively referred toas the motherboard or system board. The main board comprises the primaryprinted circuit board (PCB) of a computer. The basic circuitry andcomponents used by a computer to function are generally either containedin or attached to the main board. The main board typically contains thesystem bus, processor and coprocessor sockets, memory sockets, serialand parallel ports, expansion slots, and peripheral controllers.

By providing the vertical supports with a plurality of holes, a greatdeal of flexibility in the placement of the horizontal rails can beachieved. Accordingly, a wide variety of heights of components can beaccommodated by the rack frame structure. However, the manualpositioning and installation of each rail can be a time-consuming andlabor-intensive process, significantly increasing the total cost of thesystem.

A recent trend in rack-based computer systems has been towardsincreasing the density of computers that will fit into each rack. Thisincrease in density has been achieved by decreasing the height of eachcomputer, while maintaining the width and depth dimensions of thecomputer so that the computer can still be mounted into a conventionalcomputer rack. Thus, each computer chassis is made very wide, very deep,and very short, often just 1 U in height. The motherboard that iscontained in each computer is typically a relatively flat printedcircuit board which can be easily placed into such a wide, deep, andflat computer chassis. However, layout difficulties arise when trying toadd the additional components which are either mounted onto or attachedto the motherboard to form a functional computer. These componentsinclude, for example, hard drives, removable media drives, powersupplies, microprocessors, microprocessor heat sinks, fans, and memory.Because of the low profile of the computer chassis, there is very littleroom above the motherboard for positioning these components. Generally,the motherboard has a footprint (i.e., width and depth of themotherboard) that is significantly smaller than the footprint of thecomputer chassis. Thus, these other components are typically positionedin the space available in the chassis adjacent to the motherboard.However, the short height of the chassis limits the number and size ofcomponents that can be placed here.

The dense packing of components in these low-profile computer chassispresents cooling problems as well. Rack-based computer systems aretypically cooled by directing air through each computer chassis in afront-to-back direction. Because the 1 U computer chassis are so thin,any component contained within the computer chassis can significantlyimpede the flow of air through the computer chassis and across all ofthe components. This can produce “hot spots”, which are regions that donot receive sufficient airflow, thereby enabling heat to accumulate.

This airflow problem can be particularly problematic when attempting tocool the main processor or processors in the computer. Many processors(sometimes referred to as a “central processing unit” or “CPU”) generatetremendous amounts of heat during operation and are provided with heatsinks to dissipate this generated heat. These heat sinks may be passiveheat sinks, which cool the processor by conducting the heat away fromthe processor using fins. The heat can then be drawn away from the finsand out of the chassis by the cooling airflow. Alternatively, the heatsinks may be active heat sinks, which actively draw heat away from theprocessor, using, for example, dedicated processor fans. In either case,the heat sink increases the overall thickness of the processor assembly.In some cases, when the processor and heat sink are mounted onto amotherboard, the overall assembly is over 1.75″ thick, preventing itsuse in 1 U chassis systems. Even when the processor and heat sink aresufficiently thin that they can fit into the chassis, there is verylittle additional clearance around the heat sink, thereby preventingcooling air from effectively cooling the processor. Furthermore, thedense packing of additional components can also impede the flow of airacross the processor and heat sink. Accordingly, the progression towardsincreasing thin rack-based computers has produced both packaging andcooling problems for some computer systems.

Another problem which faces operators of rack mounted computer systemsis the difficulty or servicing the computers for repairs or upgrades.Conventional rack mounted computer components may be provided withflanges that extend from the sides of the front face of the computerchassis. Each of these flanges may be configured with two mounting holeswhich can be aligned with the holes 102 provided on the verticalsupports 102 of the rack 100. A pair of screws or bolts may be passedthrough these aligned holes in each flange in order to secure thecomputer to the rack 100. Thus, each time the computer chassis ismounted in the rack, these screws need to be attached, and each time thecomputer chassis is removed, these screws must be detached.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a computersystem is provided, comprising: a rack assembly; a first computer systemcomprising a first computer chassis and a first main board contained inthe first computer chassis, the first computer system being supported inthe rack assembly such that the first main board is in a substantiallyhorizontal orientation; and a second computer system comprising a secondcomputer chassis and a second main board contained in the secondcomputer chassis, the second computer system being supported in the rackassembly such that the second main board is in a substantiallyhorizontal orientation and the second computer system is laterallyadjacent the first computer system.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a method ofassembling a computer rack is provided, comprising: forming a firstsupport plate by cutting a first plurality of support flanges in a firstplate, the first plate defining a first plane, and bending each of thefirst plurality of support flanges such that each support flange definesa support surface substantially perpendicular to the first plane;donning a second support plate by cutting a second plurality of supportflanges in a second plate, the second plate defining a second plane, andbending each of the second plurality of support flanges such that eachsupport flange defines a support surface substantially perpendicular tothe second plane; and positioning the first and second support plates ina computer rack frame such that a plurality of computer chassis can besupported between the first and second support plates by the first andsecond pluralities of support flanges.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a computersystem is provided, comprising: a rack frame; a first plate comprising afirst plate body and a first plurality of support rails integrallyformed with the first plate body; a second plate opposite the firstplate and comprising a second plate body and a second plurality ofsupport rails integrally formed with the second plate body, said firstand second pluralities of support rails being positioned to support aplurality of computer chassis.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a rack-mountcomputer system is provided, comprising: a rack assembly, comprising aplurality of computer bays, each computer bay comprising at least onecomputer retaining recess provided along an interior portion of thecomputer bay; and a computer chassis configured to be received in one ofthe computer bays, the computer chassis comprising a chassis retainerconfigured to mate with the computer retaining recess when the computerchassis is fully inserted into the computer bay.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a rack-mountcomputer is provided, comprising: a main board comprising a printedcircuit board, at least one processor, and memory; and a computerchassis containing the main board, the computer chassis comprising: afront side having at least one aperture to allow cooling air to passtherethrough, and a back side having at least one aperture to allowcooling air to pass therethrough; wherein the computer chassis has aninterior width less than 1″ greater than a width of the printed circuitboard.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a rack-mountcluster module is provided, comprising: a cluster module chassiscomprising a plurality of bays, each bay configured to receive acomputer; a rear support provided at a rear portion of each bay; andmounting portions for mounting the cluster module in a verticalorientation in a rack assembly and in a horizontal orientation in a rackassembly.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a rack-mountcluster module is provided, comprising: a cluster module chassiscomprising a plurality of bays, each bay configured to receive acomputer; and at least one computer mounted in one of the bays, thecomputer comprising a computer chassis containing a main board; whereinthe cluster module chassis is configured to be mounted in a rackassembly in a vertical configuration such that the main board ishorizontally oriented and in a horizontal configuration such that themain board is vertically oriented.

Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the featuresin accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is notintended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely bythe claims attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a prior art computer rack.

FIGS. 2A-2B show a rack-based computer system, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rack assembly, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the rack assembly with therack frame removed, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a central portion of the frontportion of the computer system, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 6A-6B are front perspective views of a computer, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the rear side of the computer, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective front view of a computer system, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective front view of an active chassis retainer, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A-10B are perspective front views of a passive chassis retainer,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 11A-11B are perspective views of an empty bay in a rack assembly,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional view of a computer, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of rack assembly containing a plurality ofcluster modules, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 14A-14D) are perspective views of a cluster module, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective front view of a cluster module in a verticalorientation, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate several embodiments of the present invention.It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and mechanical,compositional, structural, electrical, and operational changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the embodiments of the presentinvention is defined only by the claims of the issued patent.

FIG. 2A shows a rack-based computer system 200 in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of aportion of the computer system 200. The computer system 200 comprises arack assembly 201 which provides the structural support for a pluralityof computers 210 contained therein.

The rack assembly 201 may comprise a vertically elongated, floor mountedcabinet assembly. The rack assembly 201 may comprise a rectangularinternal rack frame 202 externally covered by removable enclosure panels204. An access door may be pivotally mounted on one or more sides of therack assembly to provide access to the computers and other components(such as, e.g., routers, hubs, cabling, etc.) housed in the rackassembly 201. In other embodiments, the enclosure panels and accessdoors may be omitted or may be integrally formed with the rack frame202. The rack assembly 201 may comprise a standard-sized rack, or mayhave different dimensions. In one embodiment, the rack assembly measuresapproximately 24″ wide, 40″ deep, and 74″ high. In the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2B, the rack assembly 201 comprises a frontopening 212 and a rear opening 214. Side panels 204, front doors 206,and rear doors 208 are provided for enclosing the computer system 200.In the system 200 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2B, the rack assembly 201 isonly partially filled with computers 210, leaving room to add additionalcomputers 210 into the system 200.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2A-2B, the computers 210 are positioned in aside-by-side orientation. Thus, when viewing the computers 210 throughthe front opening 212, two computers 210 can be seen positioned at eachhorizontal section of the rack assembly 201. Each computer 210 includesits own horizontally-oriented main board and other components to form acomputer. This is in contrast with conventional rack-based systems inwhich each horizontal section of the rack contains a single computerchassis containing a single horizontally-oriented main board. This isalso in contrast with conventional blade-type computer systems which mayinclude multiple vertically-oriented blades arranged side-by-side.

In addition to the side-to-side arrangement of the computers 210, therack assembly 201 may also support computers in a back-to-backarrangement. Thus, another set of side-by-side computers 210 can beaccessed from the rear opening 214 of the rack assembly 201. Theperspective view of the rear opening 214 would be similar to theperspective view of the front opening 212 shown in FIG. 2A. Thus, fourvertically arranged stacks of computers 210 may be provided in thecomputer system 200. During operation, cooling air may be drawn throughthe computers 210 into a central air plenum positioned between the backsides of the computers 210 and then exhausted out of an exhaust port,such as top exhaust port 216.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rack assembly 201 with front doors206, rear doors 208, side panels 204, and computers 210 removed. Theillustrated rack assembly 201 comprises a rack frame 202, which providesthe main structural support for the various components of the computersystem 200.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the rack assembly 201 withthe rack frame 202 removed. In this figure, the internal supportstructure 220 can be seen. The internal support structure 220 issupported by the rack frame 202 and comprises a front pair of mountingmembers 232 a-232 b and a rear pair of mounting members 233 a-233 b. Thefront mounting members 232 a-232 b are coupled to the rack frame 202 andsupport the front computer support plates 230 a-230 d. The rear mountingmembers 232 b are also coupled to the rack frame 202 and support therear computer support plates 231 a-231 d. The internal support structure220 also comprises a plurality of rear supports 234, which arepositioned to abut the back sides of the computers 210 when thecomputers 210 are fully inserted into the rack assembly 201. A firstpair of rear supports 234 a-234 b are positioned to abut the back sidesof the computers 210 in the front section of the rack assembly 201, andsecond pair of rear supports 234 c-234 d are positioned to abut the backsides of the computers 210 in the back section of the rack assembly 201.FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a central portion of the frontsection of the computer system 200.

Although the terms “front” and “rear” are used to describe variouscomponents in the illustrated computer system 200, it will be understoodthat these are relative terms used here for convenience. In theillustrated embodiment, the front section of the computer system 200 andthe rear section of the computer system 200 are substantially identical,but oriented in opposite directions so that the front sides 601 of thecomputers 210 mounted in the front section can be accessed through thefront opening 212, and the front sides 601 of the computers 210 mountedin the rear section can be accessed through the rear opening 214. Thefollowing text describes the front portion of the computer system 200.However, it will be understood that the description may apply to therear portion as well.

FIGS. 6A-6B are front perspective views of a computer 210 that can bemounted into the rack assembly 201. The computer 210 may comprise acomputer chassis 600 containing a main board 610 and other components,such as one or more power supplies 612, hard drives 608, removable mediadrives 609, processors 624, and expansion cards, contained within thecomputer chassis 600. The chassis 600 may comprise a chassis top 602,which may be removable to provide access to the components containedtherein. An exemplary computer 210 is described in greater detail in thefollowing U.S. provisional patent applications, the disclosures of whichare incorporated by reference herein in their entireties: U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/568,969 entitled “INTERFACEASSEMBLY”, filed May 7, 2004; U.S. provisional patent application No.60/569,020 entitled “ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE SHIELD FOR I/O PORTS”,filed May 7, 2004; and U.S. provisional patent application No.60/569,019 entitled “DIRECTIONAL FAN ASSEMBLY”; filed May 7, 2004.

A computer 210 may comprise any electronic system designed to performcomputations and/or data processing. In some embodiments, the computer210 comprises an electronic device having a central processing unit(CPU) and memory. The CPU and memory may be provided on a main board610, which, in turn, may be mounted to the computer chassis 600. Thebasic circuitry and components used by a computer to function aregenerally either contained in or attached to the main board. The mainboard typically contains the system bus, processor and coprocessorsockets, memory sockets, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, andperipheral controllers. This chassis 600 may comprise, for example, ahousing that encloses all or portions of the main board 610 andcomponents coupled thereto. Alternatively, the chassis 600 may comprisea minimal structure (such as, e.g., a tray or frame) which providesmechanical support for the main board 610. Alternatively, the computermay comprise a printed circuit board (PCB) main board having exposedcomponents without an enclosure.

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the front side 601 of the computer 210with the chassis top 602 removed to expose the main board 630 and othercomponents contained within the computer chassis 600. When the computers210 are mounted in the rack assembly 201, the front sides 601 of thecomputers 210 are exposed to a user facing the front opening 212 of therack assembly 201. As can be seen in FIGS. 6A-6B, the front side 601 ofthe computer 210 exposes various components which a user may wish toaccess to operate or maintain the computer system 200. These componentsmay include, for example, one or more removable media drive ports, amass storage device, and I/O connectors. The computer 210 may beprovided with a front bezel which partially or fully covers the front ofthe computer 210. This bezel may be removable or pivotally mounted toenable the bezel to be opened to provide access to the variouscomponents. The bezel may function to reduce the effect ofelectromagnetic interference (EMI), to minimize the impact ofenvironmental factors, and to improve the aesthetic appearance of thecomputer 210. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6B, the I/Oconnectors are exposed by an I/O connector opening 618 in the computerchassis 600. The I/O connector opening 618 is covered by a movable I/Odoor 620, which provides EMI shielding.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the rear side 603 of the computer 210.The rear side 603 of the computer chassis 600 may comprise a directionalfan assembly 640, a power port opening 632 for exposing a powerconnector of a power supply 612, a power switch opening 634, a powersupply fan opening 636, and a chassis connector 650. In otherembodiments, the rear side 603 may also include one or more additionalapertures to accommodate other components, such as additional fans orI/O connectors, which may be to alternative designs of the computer 210.

Chassis Retainer

FIG. 8 is another embodiment of the rack-based computer system 200, inwhich active chassis retainers 800 may be used to releasably retain thecomputers 210 in the rack assembly 201. FIG. 9 is an enlargedperspective view of an exemplary active chassis retainer 800 mounted toone side of the computer chassis 600. In this embodiment, the chassisretainer 800 comprises a cantilevered flange 810 having a protrudingportion 812 which mates with a corresponding recess 820 in the frontsupport plate 230 d when the computer 210 is fully inserted into therack assembly 201. The cantilevered flange 810 has an outward bias whichurges the protruding portion 812 outward. The chassis retainer 800 mayalso comprise a release member 814 and a handle 816 that extend beyondthe front face of the computer 210. The user may push on the handle 816to insert the computer 210 into the bay, or may pull on the handle 816to retrieve the computer 210 from the bay, as will be described ingreater detail below.

When the computer 210 is fully inserted into an available bay in therack assembly 201, the outward bias of the flange 810 causes theprotruding portion 812 to be received into the recess 820. Theengagement of the protruding portion 812 with the recess 820 may help toprevent the computer 210 from being inadvertently dislodged from thefully inserted position. This may also provide a tactile and audiblefeedback to the operator indicating that the computer 210 has been fullyinserted into the bay. When the operator wishes to remove the computer210 from the rack assembly 201, the user may apply a lateral force ontothe release member 814 opposing the outward bias of the flange 810,thereby withdrawing the protruding portion 812 from the recess 820. Theuser may then pull on the handle 816 to withdraw the computer 210 fromthe bay.

FIGS. 10A-10B are perspective views of the opposite side of the computer210. In accordance with some embodiments, a passive chassis retainer 840may be used to retain the computer 210 in the bay of the rack assembly201. In the illustrated embodiment, the passive chassis retainer 840comprises a flange 850 having a protruding portion 852 which mates witha corresponding recess 820 in the front support plate 230 c when thecomputer 210 is fully inserted into the rack assembly 201. In this case,the flange 850 has an inward bias which urges the protruding portion 812away from the support plate 230 c. The I/O door 620 comprises a lip 854having an angled portion 856. When the I/O door 620 is in the openposition, as shown in FIGS. 10A-10B, the lip 854 does not engage theflange 850. However, when the I/O door 620 is closed, the lip 854engages the flange 850 to oppose the inward bias of the flange 850 andurge the protruding portion 852 outward. When the I/O door 620 is fullyclosed, the protruding portion 852 is received into the recess 820,thereby preventing the computer 210 from being removed. Thus, thepassive chassis retainer 840 is actuated by opening and closing the I/Odoor 620.

During use, when an operator wishes to insert a computer 210 into anavailable bay in the rack assembly 201, the operator first opens the I/Odoor 620, thereby allowing the protruding portion 852 to be withdrawninto the interior of the computer 210 due to the inward bias of theflange 850. The computer 210 can then be inserted into the rack assembly201. Once the computer 210 is fully inserted, the W/O door 620 may beclosed, thereby actuating the chassis retainer 840 and locking thecomputer 210 in the bay. To withdraw the computer 210, the I/O door 620is first opened, thereby allowing the natural bias of the flange 850 topull the protruding portion 852 away from the recess 820. The operatorcan then pull on the handle 816 and/or use the I/O door 620 as a handleto withdraw the computer 210.

In other embodiments, the I/O door 620 may be, for example,spring-loaded to provide a bias on the I/O door 620 urging the I/O door620 towards the closed position. Thus, during insertion, an operatormanually holds the I/O door 620 in the open position in order to releasethe flange 850. Once the operator releases the I/O door 620, the I/Odoor 620 will automatically close, thereby actuating the retainer 840.

In some embodiments, the protruding portion 852 may enable the computer210 to be inserted even when the I/O door 620 is closed. In theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10B, the protruding portion 852 iscantilevered such that when the I/O door 620 is closed, thereby urgingthe flange 850 outwards, the protruding portion 852 can flex to allowthe computer 210 to be received in the bay. When the computer 210 isinserted into the bay, the protruding portion 852 will bend inwards toclear the support plate 230 c. Once the protruding portion 852 reachesthe recess 820, the protruding portion 852 springs outward, therebypreventing the computer 210 from being withdrawn from the bay withoutfirst opening the I/O door 620.

In various embodiments, one or both types of chassis retainers 800, 840may be used. The chassis retainer 800 is an active retainer, whichautomatically locks the computer 210 into the bay once the computer 210is fully inserted. The chassis retainer 840 is a passive retainer, whichis actuated by the opening and closing of the I/O door 620. In theillustrated embodiment, the chassis retainer 800 is used on one side ofthe computer 210 and the door-actuated chassis retainer 840 is used onthe opposite side. This can advantageously provide both active andpassive mechanisms for retaining the computer 210 in the rack assembly201. In addition, the feedback from the active retainer 800 indicatingthat the computer 210 is fully inserted may be used as an indicator thatthe passive retainer 840 is in position to be actuated. In otherembodiments, a single active retainer 800 on a single side of thecomputer 210 may be used. In other embodiments, two or more activeretainers 800 may be used with at least one retainer 800 on each side.Similarly, in other embodiments, one or more passive retainers 840 maybe used.

In accordance with various embodiments, the chassis retainers 800, 840may provide advantages over conventional designs. In many conventionalcomputer systems, the computers are attached to the rack assembly usingthumbscrews which pass through flanges extending from the sides of thefront of the computer and mate with openings provided on the rackassembly. When installing or servicing large numbers of computers, thescrewing and unscrewing of these thumbscrews can be a tedious andtime-consuming process. The use of chassis retainers 800 and 840 canenable the computers to be very rapidly retained and released from therack assembly. In addition, the chassis retainer 800 can be easilymanufactured and installed onto a variety of computer chassis designs.

Computer Support Rails

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the rackassembly 201 may comprise a support rail system for supporting thecomputers 210 mounted in the rack assembly 201. FIGS. 11A-11B areperspective views of an empty bay 1100 in the rack assembly 201. Inthese figures, it can be seen that the support plates 230 comprise aplurality of support flanges 250. These support flanges 250 may becreated by forming a U-shaped cut 252 in a first support plate 230 d andthen bending the portion of metal inside of the U-shaped cut 252 suchthat the portion defines a plane substantially perpendicular with theplane defined by the remainder of the support plate 230 d. This bentportion forms the support flange 250, which provides a support surfacefor one side of a computer 210 being mounted in the rack assembly 201.Similarly, a second support flange 250 may also be formed in a secondsupport plate 230 c opposite the bay 1100 from the first support plate230 d. When a computer 210 is inserted into the bay 1100, a first sideof the computer 210 is supported by the first support flange 250 and asecond side of the computer 210 is supported by the second supportflange 250.

In accordance with some embodiments, each support flange 250 may serveto support a first computer 210 on one side and may further serve toabut a second computer 210 positioned adjacent the first computer 210 inorder to securely retain the second computer 210 in place. This can beseen in FIGS. 11A-11B, which shows a first computer 210 a positionedbelow the empty bay 1100 and a second computer 210 b positioned abovethe empty bay 1100. Here, the first support flange 250 a contacts thetop of the first computer 210 a to prevent the first computer 210 a frombeing inadvertently dislodged upwards out of the desired location. Inaddition, the first support flange 250 a would provide upward supportfor any computer 210 that was inserted into the bay 1100. Similarly, thesecond support flange 250 b currently provides upward support for thesecond computer 210 b, and could provide a downward retaining supportfor any computer 210 inserted into the bay 1100.

In accordance with various embodiments, the support flanges 250 mayprovide an inexpensive structure for reliably supporting the computers210 in the rack assembly 201. In conventional systems, each horizontalsupport rail in a rack assembly is manually attached to the verticalsupports of the rack frame. Although this may provide flexibility inaccommodating differently sized computer chassis, the assembly processcan be very time-consuming and does not facilitate rapid deployment oflarge numbers of computer systems. In contrast, the support plates 230incorporating the support flanges 250 can be very rapidly andinexpensively manufactured and installed into the rack assembly 201.Using the illustrated embodiment, the support rails for all of thecomputers for a section of a rack assembly or for an entire side of arack assembly can be installed by attaching a pair of support plates 230to the rack frame 202.

If it is desired to use differently sized computer chassis in the rackassembly 201, the support plates 230 can be quickly removed and replacedwith a support plate 230 having support flanges 250 formed with thedesired spacing. When the support plates 230 and support flanges 250 areformed from single sheets of metal, the cost of replacing the supportplates 230 may be negligible relative to the ease of assembly.

Computer Chassis

In accordance with some embodiments, the computer 210 comprises acomputer chassis 600 having an improved design and form factor. Asdescribed above, conventional rack-based computer system manufacturersadhere to common computer chassis designs which are configured to extendthe entire interior width of an EIA standard 19″ rack. For example, theinterior of a standard 44 U rack is approximately 19″ wide,approximately 40″ deep, and approximately 77″ tall. In order to increasethe number of computers that can be mounted in a single rack, thesemanufacturers typically reduce the height of the chassis but maintainthe width. This results in a flat, wide, “pizza box”-type chassisconfiguration. A typical 1 U server may have a height of approximately1.7″, a width of approximately 17″, and a depth of approximately 24″.While this chassis form factor may be suitable for housing wide, flatcomponents, it is not convenient for containing tall components. Inaddition, with an exterior height of just 1.7″, any components containedwithin the chassis may substantially block the cooling airflow throughthe chassis. Although 2 U, 3 U, or 4 U height chassis are available,these conventional systems typically maintain the same width as theconventional 1 U server.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional block diagram of a computer 210 inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. The computer 210comprises a computer chassis 600 having a height, H_(c), ofapproximately 3.1″, a width, W_(c), of approximately 12.15″, and a depthof approximately 16.7″. In this embodiment, the computer chassis has awidth-to-height ratio of approximately 3.9. A conventional 1 Urack-mount server may have a width-to-height ratio of approximately 10.Even a 2 U rack-mount server may have a width-to-height ratio of greaterthan 4.9.

In addition to having a width-to-height ratio less than the conventionalratio, the computer chassis 600 has a width that is substantially lessthan the standard EIA 19″ rack-compliant computer chassis. As shown inFIG. 12, the computer chassis 600 has a width that is only slightlylarger than the width of the main board 630 contained therein. Forexample, in FIG. 12, the main board 630 comprises a standard EATX(“extended ATX”) motherboard having a width, W_(M), of just under 12″.Thus, the main board 630 fills substantially the entire width of thecomputer chassis 600.

In conventional rack-mount computers, many of the various computercomponents, such as the hard drives, removable media drives, and powersupply, are positioned adjacent to the main board. In the computer 210,because the main board 630 consumes substantially the entire interiorwidth of the computer chassis 600, there is no room adjacent to the mainboard available for the placement of additional components. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, due to theincreased height of the computer chassis 600, these components may bemounted above the main board 630.

Another advantage of utilizing a taller form factor computer chassis 600is that processors 624 having tall heat sinks 626 may be used, as shownin FIG. 12. Tall heat sinks 626 may comprise a plurality ofheat-conducting fins that draw heat away from the processors 624 andonto the fins, where the heat can be drawn away by the cooling airflowing past the fins. Increasing the height of the heat sinks 626 mayimprove the heat sinks' ability to cool the processors 624.

It may be desirable to position large computer components, such as thepower supply 612, above the main board 630 but laterally adjacent to theprocessors 624 and heat sinks 626. As a result, cooling air which flowsfront-to-back (i.e., enters the front of the computer 210 and exits outof the back of the computer 210) or back-to-front (i.e., enters the backof the computer 210 and exits out of the font of the computer 210) willflow past the processors 624 and heat sinks 626 without being impeded bythe large components, such as the power supply 612.

As shown in FIG. 2A, computers 210 having these form factors may bemounted in a rack assembly 201 in a side-by-side and back-to-backconfiguration. In other words, these computers 210 may be mounted suchthat the front half of the rack assembly 201 supports two stacks ofcomputers 210 and the back half of the rack assembly 201 support anothertwo stacks of computers 210.

In accordance with other embodiments, a computer 210 having the computerchassis 600 as described above can be mounted into a standard 19″ rack.FIG. 13 shows a computer system 900, comprising an EIA standard 19″ rackassembly 902 and a plurality computers 210, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. The rack assembly 902 may have,e.g., an interior measuring approximately 19″ wide, approximately 40″deep, and approximately 77″ tall. In this embodiment, the rack assembly902 contains a plurality of cluster modules 910 a-910 f, each clustermodule 910 containing a plurality of computers 210. These computers 210are oriented vertically, in contrast with the horizontal mounting ofcomputers 210 shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 14A shows a perspective view of an empty cluster module chassis920. The cluster module chassis 920 comprises a plurality of computerbays 922 and a plurality of rack-mountable flanges 924. The clustermodule chassis 920 can be mounted in the rack assembly 902, for example,by attaching the flanges 924 to vertical supports in the rack assembly902 using thumbscrews. Each cluster module chassis 920 may, for example,be formed of sheet metal and be 12.25″ tall, 17.5″ wide, and 18.5″ deep.Accordingly, the cluster module 910 containing a plurality of computers210 may be mounted in a standard 19″ rack.

FIGS. 14B-14C are perspective views of a cluster module chassis 920filled with computers 210. In FIG. 14C, one computer 210 is shownpartially removed. FIG. 14D shows a perspective rear view of the clustermodule 910. In this view, it can be seen that the cluster module chassis920 may comprise a rear support 934, similar to the rear support 234described above and in greater detail in U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/568,969 entitled “INTERFACE ASSEMBLY,” filed May 7,2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

In the computer system 900, shown in FIG. 13, the rack assembly 902 isfilled with cluster modules 910 a-910 f. In other embodiments, one ormore cluster modules 910 may be mounted in the rack assembly 902adjacent to computers having conventional form factors, such as, e.g.,19″ wide 1 U servers. In this way, the computers 210 can be utilized ina mixed-computer environment without requiring installation of dedicatedrack assemblies 201.

In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, thecluster module 910 may be mounted in a rack in a vertically-orientedconfiguration 910′, as shown in FIG. 15. This cluster module 910′ may besubstantially similar or identical to the cluster module 910 shown inFIGS. 14A-14D, but is configured to mounted in a rack in a verticalorientation, such that the computers 210 contained therein arehorizontally-oriented when deployed. The cluster module 910′ maycomprise a cluster module chassis 920′, similar to cluster modulechassis 920, but with the flanges 924 for attachment with the rackassembly removed. This cluster module 950 may be installed in a rackassembly similar to rack assembly 201, but without the support flanges250 for each individual computer 210. Thus, the same cluster module 910can be deployed in both horizontal and vertical orientations, enablingthe cluster module 910 to be used in a wide variety of rack assemblyconfigurations.

While the invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments and illustrative figures, those of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments orfigures described. For example, many of the embodiments described aboverefer to the computer systems being utilized as part of a server farm.In other embodiments, the computer systems may be used for otherpurposes, such as, for example, storage arrays.

The figures provided are merely representational and may not be drawn toscale. Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others maybe minimized. The figures are intended to illustrate variousimplementations of the invention that can be understood andappropriately carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Therefore, it should be understood that the invention can be practicedwith modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of theappended claims. The description is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should beunderstood that the invention can be practiced with modification andalteration and that the invention be limited only by the claims and theequivalents thereof.

1. A rack-mount computer system, comprising: a rack assembly, comprisinga plurality of computer bays, each computer bay comprising at least onecomputer retaining recess provided along an interior portion of thecomputer bay; and a computer chassis configured to be received in one ofthe computer bays, the computer chassis comprising a chassis retainerconfigured to mate with the computer retaining recess when the computerchassis is fully inserted into the computer bay.
 2. The rack mountedcomputer of claim 1, wherein: the chassis retainer comprises a flexibleflange and a protruding portion configured to mate with the computerretaining recess.
 3. The rack mounted computer of claim 2, wherein: theflexible flange comprises a release member which protrudes beyond afront side of the computer chassis.
 4. The rack-mounted computer systemof claim 1, wherein: said chassis retainer comprises a cantileveredflange having a protruding portion which mates with the computerretaining recess.
 5. The rack-mounted computer system of claim 4,wherein: the cantilevered flange includes an outward bias which urgesthe protruding portion outward.
 6. The rack-mounted computer system ofclaim 5, wherein: the chassis retainer further comprises a releasemember.
 7. The rack-mounted computer system of claim 6, wherein: thechassis retainer automatically engages the computer retaining recesswhen the computer chassis is inserted into the computer bay.
 8. Therack-mounted computer system of claim 7, wherein: the release member isconfigured such that a user can depress the release member to disengagethe chassis retainer and pull the computer chassis out of the computerbay.
 9. The rack mounted computer system of claim 6, wherein: therelease member comprises a handle that extend beyond a front face of thecomputer chassis, the handle is configured such that a user candisengage the chassis retainer from the retaining recess by moving theposition of the handle.
 10. The rack mounted computer of claim 1,wherein: each of the plurality of computer bays comprises at least apair of support flanges configured to support a weight the computerchassis when the computer chassis is inserted into the computer bay. 11.The rack-mounted computer system of claim 1, wherein: the chassisretainer further comprises a release member configured such that a usercan depress the release member to disengage the chassis retainer fromthe retaining recess, and pull the computer chassis out of the computerbay.
 12. The rack-mounted computer system of claim 11, wherein: the saidchassis retainer comprises a cantilevered flange having a protrudingportion which mates with the computer retaining recess.
 13. Therack-mounted computer system of claim 1, wherein: said plurality ofcomputer bays comprises a plurality of support rails.
 14. A method ofconfiguring a computer apparatus comprising: providing a rack-mountedcomputer system according to claim 3; inserting said computer chassisinto one of said computer bays, wherein said computer chassis includes acentral processing unit and a main board.